You get 3 points for a win. They beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1st match. The loss to Porto means they are still on 3 points.
UEFA Champions League/Europa League ** Spoilers ** [29/30 September - 1 October 2015]
- Thread starter Cosimo
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You get 3 points for a win. They beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1st match. The loss to Porto means they are still on 3 points.
I certainly hope so, I am sick of seeing teams celebrating getting 4th slot like they've won the World Cup - it's somewhat embarrassing.
Thats just Arsenal that celebrate 4th spot every year. And its not that the PL is weaker than other leagues thats just silly to say. We have some of the best players in the world and some of the best managers. The league in general needs to have a look at what it can do to help our top teams in Europe though.
I think it is a combination of the style you have to play to succeed in the PL coupled with the quality of opposition week in week out that means our players go into these games more tired than they should.
The money that has come into the PL has meant that every team can buy £20m players and construct a good team. You have seen what can happen if you have an off season. (man utd, Chelsea etc) anyone can beat you if you are not performing.
What other league has the strength and depth of the PL and which other leagues can teams at the top not rest quite a few of their top players before a big match and still stroll 90% of their games.
I think it is a combination of the style you have to play to succeed in the PL coupled with the quality of opposition week in week out that means our players go into these games more tired than they should.
The money that has come into the PL has meant that every team can buy £20m players and construct a good team. You have seen what can happen if you have an off season. (man utd, Chelsea etc) anyone can beat you if you are not performing.
What other league has the strength and depth of the PL and which other leagues can teams at the top not rest quite a few of their top players before a big match and still stroll 90% of their games.
Huh?
Regarding last night, was obviously a terrid night for british clubs. Arsenal need a draw/win against Bayern or we're out of the comp. Hopefully Utd & City can do better tonight. As Fez mentioned, i think something needs to be looked at regarding our competitiveness in Europe. No winter break, league cup and fa cup, more intense and competitive league, long pre seasons. It seems fatigue is just building up and up when were in Europe.
People can kid themselves into thinking the competitiveness of the EPL is the reason that English teams have started to struggle in recent years, but its ***** though. The same teams in England compete for the CL spots year in year out, beating the same teams over and over again picking up pretty much the same amount of points year in year out.
The reason in simple, English teams just aren't that good.
Over the past 4 seasons, 5 teams from the PL have qualified for the Champs League through league placing, Spain have 7, Germany have 6 and Italy have 5 despite having 1 place less - remind me again, who has the most competitive league?
And as to 20 million pound players in every team in the league, um no. Outside the usual suspects only Spurs and Everton have broken the £20 million barrier I believe.
That doesn't mean the games within the league are'nt harder to win though. You spread that across a whole season with an extra cup run and no winter break...it's definitely a factor.
The top teams dont take the domestic up competitions seriously and haven't since the inception of CL. People arguing that its more competitive as the lower placed teams are spending more, well the top teams are spending even greater amounts. People constantly fall for the Sky marketing hype. Best league in the world™, not its not. Its not even the most competitive either. It is the league that sold its soul to the devil though.
Teams without the resources of the EPL actually develop their players and managers because they have to, they cant go and throw 10 million on random player A and that's why they are progressing further.
Teams without the resources of the EPL actually develop their players and managers because they have to, they cant go and throw 10 million on random player A and that's why they are progressing further.
I'm sorry but man for man our teams are better than most of the sides that the PL teams have lost to. I haven't watched all of the games but the ones I have watched we have dominated and just haven't been able to capitalise on that dominance. Arsenal should have won last night but their keeper made a howler and they didn't finish a few chances. The other team just defended for their lives when they went a goal up.
These players that have been 'developed' by the sides without money, do they suddenly become crap when they come to the PL? What about the managers from abroad because we have plenty of those. Teams in the PL have time to build a team over a few years. Certainly the lower down you go the more chance you have (barring relegation fodder). If building a team and developing players was the way to success then a lot of the top teams in the PL would be different. Also, look at all the top sides in Europe. How many of them have done what you have said. Your arguments just don't hold up.
These players that have been 'developed' by the sides without money, do they suddenly become crap when they come to the PL? What about the managers from abroad because we have plenty of those. Teams in the PL have time to build a team over a few years. Certainly the lower down you go the more chance you have (barring relegation fodder). If building a team and developing players was the way to success then a lot of the top teams in the PL would be different. Also, look at all the top sides in Europe. How many of them have done what you have said. Your arguments just don't hold up.
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Huh?
They haven't looked even close to the team they were last year so far this year, in any competition.
Always an excuse with Arsenal, what about the previous loss? Or the continued failure to do anything in Europe (disregarding winning, getting to one final in 20 odd years is pretty telling and thats even including one of the greatest teams in PL history).
As to teams getting to build over years? How? Managers change nearly yearly, new managers = new ideas, new styles of play and new players. As to players getting worse moving here, well I don't think they improve like they do in other countries no. It could be argued that due to diet, traning conditions and the tactics employed by average prem sides they do get worse yes.
Then there is also the players lauded as World Class when they move here, the likes of Di Maria, Sanchez etc. Generally if they moving from a big European team its because they aforementioned European sides have decided to sell them as they aren't what they were before or they can get better in.
Besides every thing 'bad' you can list with the PL is also true in European teams bar a winter break - which strangely enough wasn't an issue when we were dominating the CL. What was apparent then was the managers were far more suited to European competitions and the money in the English game was greater than the continent. As the money gap has closed (part in thanks to English teams paying silly money for 'average' players) then the better training methods/tactics employed by those in Spain, Italy, Germany and elsewhere have seen European teams beat the English teams regularly.
Caporegime
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Ridiculously long unbeaten run, where they got smashed 5-0 by the first decent team they played?
Giroud's yellows were utterly absurd, as in entirely avoidable not wrong, Giroud being an idiot. Unlucky own goal, a little, how many own goals and stupidly poor defending does Ox need to be involved in before it's not luck and more just Ox is a grade A moron. He positions himself poorly, he was late as hell covering the space against Zagreb, his poor initial defending and reading of the game led to it. If he'd read it and been in the space it would never have been a goal. Same for his flick out yesterday if he had a brain and left it for the keeper no goal, instead he did the worst thing you can do, stick out a foot at a bad angle which left the keeper stranded.
If you aren't able to get a good strong foot to the ball you should leave it IF it's going somewhere the keeper has a great chance of saving it. Sticking out a heel behind you not knowing if you'll touch it is asking for a deflection that will leave the keeper no chance. Ox plays like this over and over again. Hurts the team WAY more often than he helps it as usual. Poor shot, gives the ball away constantly, mostly terrible delivery and in most games the pointless shots from outside the box. I think he took 2 or 3 yesterday that simply went 3-5 yards wide no threat, no danger, just utterly pointless.
Someone at Arsenal needs to actually tell players what they are/aren't capable of and to stop wasting everyone's time. Apparently Wenger has never told Ramsey not to shoot from outside the box because he does it constantly and barely ever gets close, same for Ox, Cazorla.
Ox starts frequently despite being dire, Walcott got one ridiculously awful deflected goal, ruined most of everything else, and his one good move was the cross for the goal where in effect Walcott was the right winger and Sanchez the centre forward. I'm not a big fan of Walcott out wide, but he's massively more effective playing from wide with a central striker to occupy the CB's.
Caporegime
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No Herrera again, still doing this stupid Valencia right back, Darmian left back thing...
Pretty sure he's injured?
Good to see Wilson on the bench, let's hope he gets a look in.